CULTURAL TOURS

PEARLS OF THE PAST – CRACOW AND LVIV

DAY 1 Arrival in Krakow. Airport transfer to the hotel.

DAY 2 Breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Walking tour of the Old Town – discovering the treasures of the former capital of Poland. Starting with the Wawel hill with an impressive castle (which used to be the seat of the Polish kings) and the cathedral, you’ll follow the Royal Way to admire the beautiful tenement houses and churches and reach the Market Square – the largest medieval market place in Europe! Here we’ll stop for a while to listen to the bugle call played by a trumpeter from St. Mary’s Church tower, visit the church (with the famous wooden altar) and the Cloth Hall – a perfect place to buy some souvenirs from Krakow. During the tour you’ll also visit the university quarter with Collegium Maius – the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University.

Guided tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine (UNESCO). The mine, one of the oldest in the world, is visited every year by over one million of tourists from all over the world. During the tour you’ll admire 20 salt rock chambers (with a magnificent St. King’s chapel), underground saline lakes, numerous salt sculptures and impressive timber constructions. There will be also a chance to try some specialties of an underground restaurant!

DAY 3

Breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Departure for Auschitz-Birkenau Museum (UNESCO). Located about 70 km from Krakow, this former Nazi concentration camp is one of the best known places of genocide in the world. About 1,3 million people lost their life there. Nowadays the preserved Memorial consists of two parts Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II – Birkenau. The guided tour lasts about 3,5 hours (whole trip about 6,5 hours). Time at leisure.

DAY 4

After breakfast at hotel restaurant we’ll leave for Przemysl – a small town at the Polish-Ukrainian border.

In Przemysl (Poland) we’ll take a train and get to L’viv (train rides 2 hours).

Departure time from Przemysl: 14.26

No need to wait at the border crossing!

Arrival in Lviv (Leopoli), transfer from the railway station to the hotel.

DAY 5

Breakfast at the hotel restaurant.

Walking City-tour of Lviv (3 hours) with all its highlights: Rynok Square, Dominican Cathedral, Black House, Italian Courtyard, Latin Cathedral, Boims Chapel, the Assumption Church and Ensemble of Bernardine Monastery, Armenian Cathedral of XIV century– one of the oldest in the city.

Free time for lunch.

Visit to the open-air museum of local wooden architecture (1,5 hours).

Tour of L’viv Opera house and attendance at an opera performance (optionally, additional payment 10-20 euro per person)

DAY 6

Breakfast at the hotel restaurant.

Did you know that L’viv is known as a coffee capital in Ukraine? Since Habsburg times there were many cosy coffee-housee in L’viv. Today we are going to visit one of L’viv famous coffee-houses and taste the delicious L’viv style coffee and local galician desserts, while listening to interesting coffee stories. H-m-m…tastes good!

Tour of Habsburgs’ Lviv (4 hours): we’ll visit Vysokyi Zamok (High Castle hill) with an unforgettable panorama of the entire city, Lychakiv Cemetery one of the most beautiful and old necropolises and one of the largest Cemeteries known in Europe (founded in 1786), the University of Ivan-Franko, St. George’s Cathedral.

Free time. Since this is your last day in Lviv, the rest of it day is at your disposal. You’ll have the last chance to buy authentic embroidery and gifts from Ukraine.

DAY 7

Breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Airport transfer and departure from Lviv.